The Empress Tames the Tyrant - Chapter 28

After that, how many more glasses of wine did they share? When Alicia finally tried to stand, her body swayed involuntarily.

“Careful.”

Cayenne stood up instinctively and caught her wrist, his other arm sweeping around to steady her before she could lose her balance. It happened in the blink of an eye.

“Your hands are cold.”

Only then did Alicia realize how searingly hot Cayenne’s body temperature felt against her skin.

“Are you still feeling unwell?”

Should she be grateful that the wine had already flushed her face crimson? Alicia carefully withdrew her hand and stood upright.

“No, Your Majesty.”

Though Cayenne pulled back his arm once she was steady, he remained close, watching her as if she might break at any moment. The intensity of his dark gaze felt just as hot as his touch from a moment ago.

“Your Majesty, it is very late,” Alicia said cautiously, taking a step back.

“…So it is.”

Cayenne felt conflicted. Was he disappointed that time was moving so quickly tonight, or was he saddened that Alicia had returned to her usual, formal distance after they had been so close just moments ago?

“I suppose my punishment was too severe.”

As Alicia hesitated to take another step, Cayenne closed the distance between them. A sweet scent of wine wafted from her plump, clear lips. Unlike her icy hands, her breath felt warm and vivid.

“I am fine. If I give you my leave and call for the Head Maid…”

“Is that truly necessary?”

“Pardon?”

Cayenne’s indifferent expression remained unreadable as ever.

“The punishment was mine to give, so I shall be the one to provide the remedy.”

Before Alicia could even ask what he meant, Cayenne swept her off her feet. He tucked one arm behind her knees and the other around her back, lifting her into the air. The action was so sudden she didn’t even have time to let out a cry; dizzy from the movement, she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Ah.”

Seeing her wide blue eyes and parted lips, Cayenne seemed to realize belatedly how impulsive he had been. Yet, he could also feel the weight of her arms holding onto him.

“Rest easy. I have no intention of letting you fall.”

That wasn’t why I was startled, Alicia thought. Unable to voice her inner turmoil, she averted her eyes from his face. Their faces were still far too close, but looking away was better than making eye contact.

“Are you afraid?”

Cayenne’s low voice vibrated near her ear as she continued to look away. Everyone in the world feared him, and he knew that—so what was his intention in asking?

“It’s… not that.”

Alicia didn’t see it, but a faint smile spread across Cayenne’s lips. He was a man born to be feared and revered by all, yet at this moment, Alicia’s answer pleased him immensely. It was a feeling dictated by his racing heart.

“I like that answer very much.”

The scent of a woman—a scent he was experiencing for the first time in his life—filled his embrace. It should have felt foreign, but his instincts seemed to recognize it instantly.

“So, from now on… let you be the one person who does not fear me.”

Alicia looked at him in wide-eyed surprise before shyly looking away again. However, since it was an Imperial command, she had no choice but to whisper, “Yes.”

“Which way is the bedchamber?”

Unlike Cayenne’s still-indifferent tone, Alicia’s heart began to pound frantically. Her intoxication vanished instantly, replaced by a single, overwhelming possibility.

“Your Majesty, wait. I… I…”

Had she been out of her mind? They were a married couple, they had been drinking alone late into the night in her private quarters, and now he was carrying her. In any era, this situation implied only one thing.

“Was the punishment truly that much?”

Cayenne looked down at her stiffened face with a mischievous glint before glancing around and striding toward the bedchamber doors. Even carrying a grown woman, his pace was as effortless as ever.

“Your Majesty, I can walk on my own,” Alicia whispered, but Cayenne ignored her. He nudged the door open with his foot, carried her inside, and set her down gently on the bed. For a man of his nature, it was a remarkably careful gesture, but Alicia was in no state to notice such subtleties.

“So this is the Empress’s bedchamber. It’s my first time seeing it.”

This was the place he should have visited on their wedding night.

“If we had…”

Cayenne stopped mid-sentence, a strangely bitter smile crossing his face. He knew well enough that a wedding night long passed could never be reclaimed.

“More importantly, are you truly alright? Your face was flushed from the wine earlier, but now you are pale.”

She would have been perfectly fine if he simply left, but Cayenne, the very source of her distress, remained oblivious.

“Shall I call the physician?”

“I am truly fine,” Alicia replied, pushing herself up into a sitting position. As she leaned against the headboard, the front of her robe shifted, revealing her delicate collarbones through her white nightgown.

“Ahem.”

He hadn’t intended to stare, but Cayenne felt a strange sense of guilt, as if his eyes had committed a crime. Despite being husband and wife, they had been strangers until now; Cayenne’s awkwardness was that of a man who had never been close to a woman in his life.

“To be honest, I don’t know why I was so angry and ignored you on our wedding night.”

His dark eyes were sincere. There was a trace of regret in his expression—faint, but definitely there.

“If that caused you pain, I wish to apologize.”

“Oh, no…”

Seeing this massive man standing by her bedside with such a sorrowful face, Alicia felt more and more confused about what was happening.

“Which cheek was it, that I kissed at the wedding?”

“Pardon?”

Cayenne was staring intently at her clear cheek.

“I was suddenly… curious.”

Truthfully, Alicia didn’t remember clearly either. He had barely touched his lips to her while making no effort to hide his annoyance; it could hardly even be called a kiss.

“Was it this side?”

Cayenne’s finger brushed against her soft cheek. His movements were always too fast, possessing a speed that left most people struggling to keep up. Alicia couldn’t help but startle at the slight contact.

“Yes… yes…”

It didn’t actually matter which side it was. Alicia answered distractedly to hide her agitation, but Cayenne watched her for a moment before leaning down.

“Your Majesty?”

There was nowhere left to run. Cayenne was approaching from the front, and the pillows blocked her from behind. Even if there had been an escape route, outmoving him was an impossibility.

Could it be? Did Cayenne come to the Empress’s Palace tonight with this intention from the start? It was perfectly normal for a husband and wife to share a bed. Even if they had lived as strangers, he was the Emperor; by showing this much sincerity, he had every right to claim her and finalize their marriage. Even if Alicia wasn’t ready to accept him, that was the law and the way of the world.

“Your Majesty.”

As she called out again, Cayenne—who had been leaning toward her cheek—stopped just inches away, his dark eyes boring into her blue ones. He stopped advancing, but the suffocating proximity remained.

“What is it?”

They were so close that he could feel the slight tremble in her breath. Even her white eyelashes, the color of her platinum hair, fluttered with every blink.

“I… I am not ready.”

Alicia squeezed her eyes shut and forced the words out.

“Ready?” Cayenne asked, sounding puzzled. “There is no need for such things.”

His shadow loomed closer over her. Alicia gripped the duvet tightly, her eyes still clamped shut. What happens if I push him away? Or if…

“I am only trying to finish what I failed to do at the wedding, so it is fine.”

In that instant, Alicia forgot to breathe. As his hot breath tickled her cheek, she couldn’t take the tension anymore and jerked her head to the side.

“…”

Chok.

It was the moment their lips met for the first time.

The heat of their shared breath and the soft, supple sensation they had never known before seemed to make time stand still. Both Cayenne and Alicia seemed to have forgotten how to move.

“S-Stop!”

Alicia was the first to break the silence. She used every ounce of strength she had been holding back to push against Cayenne’s shoulders. Even after being pushed back, Cayenne stood there, dazed and motionless.

“…I.”

Cayenne finally opened his lips, but he looked away for some reason. Alicia opened her eyes, but she couldn’t bring herself to look at him either.

“I only intended to make up for that half-hearted kiss at the wedding.”

Alicia realized then that she still didn’t know this man at all.

He was a man who had lived a blunt, shameless, and rough life, yet he knew absolutely nothing about women. He hadn’t even reached the level of considering the “situation” she was currently worried about. In truth, the thought of spending their first night together had never even crossed his mind.

“I heard earlier that you must have been heartbroken on our wedding day… I only wanted to compensate for that, to show our vow and respect…”

This man is truly strange today. Cayenne stood there mumbling to himself, looking at Alicia with a look of troubled embarrassment she had never seen before.

“No, I was too hasty.”

Finally, he took a step back.

“I did not kiss your lips on purpose.”

Watching him, the fear Alicia had felt moments ago vanished, replaced by bewilderment. This giant of a man looked more discouraged than she did, and she was the one who had just had her first kiss stolen.

“So, I…”

Cayenne ran a hand through his hair, messing it up in frustration at his own bumbling words. Everything had been going so well until a moment ago; he couldn’t understand why the atmosphere had suddenly turned so bizarre.

“Never mind.”

He turned on his heel and strode out of the bedroom without a single word of farewell.

“Haaa…”

Only then did Alicia let out a long, shaky breath. However, she knew there was no way she would be falling asleep anytime soon. Cayenne felt exactly the same.